(MUSIC BECOMES ELEGANT JAZZ) Captions by Cameron Grigg. Edited by Julie Taylor. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2019 (LIGHT MUSIC) Dear? Oh, sorry. Yeah. Thank you, everyone, for coming to our quick little staff gathering and meeting before we all head out and do what we need to do. Right now we're in the winter, and it's important that the staff stay warm. So is there anyone that's needing a jacket? It's cold out there. You need a jacket? Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK. Anyone else? Oh, Logan. It's cold. It is the season to be sick. Dear, do you have a jacket? So, Scottie... I don't want the staff getting sick during the busy season, cos that would be a nightmare for all of us. The computers ` we're working on installing those this week hopefully, once we have upstairs all sorted. We used to live upstairs of our funeral home, so we've recently moved out into a whare, and now I want to give back to the staff, and I want to build offices for them. I want a space for them. Also, we need a new arrangement area, or a lounge, for families to wait. I'm not going upstairs. I've put my foot down, and I'm staying under Harry Potter's hole, underneath the stairs. Yep. Nona's not going up there in the new office. She wants to remain in her office, cos she doesn't wanna climb the stairs. FRANCIS: FOLIKI: FRANCIS: FOLIKI: When it comes to new space, Francis always has a vision. (SIGHS) OK, let's knock the wall down. We're all about breaking barriers, aren't we? So let's do that, Foliki. So Bob the Builder, he wants to knock a wall out. I just always hope he knows what he's doing when it comes to (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) things like this. K, what we're gonna do is, you know, we'll go one each, eh? Just so we can break some of this down and see what's under there. Foliki is gonna help me smash the wall. We're like partners in crime. I'm like Batman, and Foliki's like Robin. Are you first or me first? Yep, me first. Ready? Anywhere? Yep. (CHUCKLES) Whoo! Hang on, I'll do it a bit more. Wow! (BANGING) (LIGHT MUSIC) (CHUCKLES) Oh, shit, that was good. Your turn. (LAUGHS) Ohhh, yes! SOFTLY: Wow. OK, can we stop the knocks? Cos we're making a mess on the other side. Just gently. But that's OK if you make a mess. No, it's more cleaning. I love decorating, but I don't like the journey there. I love the end result, and that's why you might see things move quickly, because I can't stand the mess, you know, that it looks like. Fehi, can we get the vacuum, please? (CHUCKLING, SPLUTTERING) I love the vacuum cleaner. It is a saviour. (IMITATES SMALL EXPLOSION) (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) We are gonna need a vacuum, and we're probably gonna need two. (LIGHT, ELEGANT MUSIC) (GENTLE MUSIC) (WOMAN VOCALISES) This morning in our care, we have the late Emmie Sope, who comes from Vanuatu. Emmie was 42 years old,... and she went into hospital and didn't even tell anyone how sick she was. Emmie went in to hospital on Wednesday, and she passed away on Sunday. Welcome, and greetings in the name of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We'd like to welcome her family. In particular, Mum and her brother, who made the journey from Vanuatu. This morning, I'm the celebrant for Emmie's final service here in New Zealand. BOTH HARMONISE: # How sweet # the sound # that saved # a wretch # like me. # I have seen Fiona officiate funerals before, and I do like her style. It is very,... uh, Fiona. You're more than welcome to come up. Yeah, so this is your chance. (PERSON COUGHS) If you're Croatian, you can come up first. (LAUGHTER) I am envious of her, and when she gets up there, she is her. Like, she is who she is. She is confident ` very confident. I like to see... the people enjoy the service; families trusting me to, you know, give a... a glimpse of their life with their loved one. I love the reactions and hearing people's testimonies. It's an eye-opener at times. Emmie was an easy-going person,... kind-natured, humble... and courageous. So what I'm learning at the moment about Emmie is that she was a very giving lady, a lady of pride and a lady of intelligence, and she loved our cultures. She loved the Pacific people, and she did quite a lot for youth. So, we've actually come towards the end of our service, and we're gonna get our funeral director Francis to come up and hold our basket of rose heads. (WARM MUSIC) Now that Emmie's service is finished, she'll be repatriated back to Vanuatu, where she'll be finally laid to rest in her homeland. (LIGHT MUSIC) Today, Takapari, Foliki and I, we're off to go and get some new office furniture for the staff offices upstairs. Yeah, so we only need two desks, I think, and some chairs, and that's it for upstairs. I have a budget for everything. I have a budget for the offices; I have a budget for the painter; I have a budget for the builder. Most of the time, my wife's budgets are unrealistic. (AMUSING MUSIC) Looks like a nice spend. Darling? It was` It was good. That's good. Is there a receipt that I can have for this, please? Right now? Well, generally, when the guys come back, they provide a receipt... for their spendage. Francis is terrible with money. He's... He is terrible. Now,... Mm-hmm. ...let me explain that. Yup. Now, the reason I had to` why I had to buy those chairs and they're so expensive is because the weight. Like, there were $100 chairs and that, but, you know, they were only weighted to 100kg. These chairs are for Fehi,... Logan, um, Tak. So you just imagine, you know, Nona or Scottie or someone hapu ` it's gonna be broken real quick. That's why I had to make sure I got ones that can hold up to 150. Francis,... shh. Should I be concerned for the next budget that I give you that you're going to exceed that? No, I'll` It was just` just this one there. That's all. OK. All right, so I'm going to be very nice about it right now, and just (IMITATES WHOOSHING). OK. I will just take this upstairs. All right. Thank you. So annoying. So annoying that I have to deal with it, but (BREATHES DEEPLY) I know... deep down in my heart we wouldn't be here without budgets. (LIGHT, ELEGANT MUSIC) (MOURNFUL STRING MUSIC) (MUSIC CONTINUES) We have a 47-year-old female. Her name is Leanne Wright, and she's passed away, unfortunately, due to suicide. WOMAN: All right, Kelly, come on in. (WOMAN SOBS LOUDLY) Suicide, I... feel that it's a very sad way to die,... um,... and it is very heart-wrenching for people to try and find strength. (WOMAN SOBS) WOMAN: You're all right, Mum. In my experience, there are so many questions left behind for loved ones to work out, to figure out, to... understand, you know? And that's the hurting part of the whole situation. FIONA: OK, honey. And one, two, three ` come back. (SOFT RUSTLING) Is that her funky white one she likes? WOMAN: (EXCLAIMS GENTLY) WOMAN: Yeah. The family wanted to dress Leanne in this white lace-embroidered dress. It is quite short, but they said it was her favourite, and they said they could see her a mile away, walking towards home. They'd go 'Oh, there she goes', and she's in this nice little white, lacy dress. Put the stockings over. Yup. What size feet is she? Oh, she's... Five? Six? (WOMAN LAUGHS) Yeah, she's got tiny feet. Now, now. This is the feet that walked miles, you know? Oh, yeah. Fiona has the ability to lighten the mood... but also to soften the mood. I try and sense what the feeling's like in the dressing room, and then I create the atmosphere to be a bit more happier, because, you know, especially with suicides, the last thing they need to be saying to themselves ` 'It's my fault, why you're here.' (SOMBRE PIANO NOTE) 'The time has come now where we need to place Leanne into her casket.' And then as you swing her legs, I'm going to lift her head and beautiful curls. One, two, three. (SOFT GRUNTING) That's all right. All the way. (GENTLE PIANO MUSIC) I feel she looks beautiful. Her dress is very sexy. I love it. This is a short skirt, dear. It is. It is. That's OK. (CHUCKLES GENTLY, SNIFFLES) That's the style, though, eh, sis? That's how we does,... I think, sometimes. How you dress. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) Leanne's mum has bought a little bunch of lavenders for Leanne,... and I think it's beautiful, and it looked very subtle on Leanne ` the way we placed it on her casket. (DELICATE PIANO MUSIC) She smells nice. (CHUCKLES) I've been asked by Fiona and the family to be the celebrant for the funeral of Leanne. I'm very nervous, because... I haven't done it in such a long time, and also, I've never done a suicide funeral. And so I just don't wanna say things that I shouldn't, and I wanna make sure that the service truly reflects Leanne. And... just all the OTT stuff that I'm, you know, just` I just want it to be perfect for them, and I don't trust myself to do that. (SOFT, PENSIVE MUSIC) So, I would like a wall out here. Mm-hm. Just get the builders to put the wall there, K, just to block it off. The renovation upstairs is almost done, and now we've just gotta dress the room. This painting, it doesn't, you know, pop. It's not... It's not 'wow'. Francis is in charge of interior decorating. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) Can I let it go? Yeah. Try not to mark the wall, please, like you have over here. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) I do have a better eye than my wife. Just pop it on there. Mm-hm. Yeah, on the side, on one side. Here? (GASPS) Yep, keep going. Keep going? Yes, down there. Right there? Oh, that's just... (CHUCKLES) (SIGHS) Can we be on this side? There are different skills in life and work and in marriage, and what she knows on the computer, I don't, you know? So she can do the computer stuff, and then I'll do, you know, all the other stuff. (RUSTLING) Oh yes. I found the key. Oh, those ones? Oh! 'I do like to have two of things ` two of everything.' Here they are. Here it is. Our secret weapons. Two vases, two pot plants, two` just because it... just pairs off, and it feels right ` one next to each other,... (GRUNTS) '...cos, you know, two's the magic number. 'I've also recently discovered that three works just as amazing as two.' I feel like, 'Where have I been?' You know? Can we take these orange things up there on that bench, dear? Up there? Yeah. Just three orange things. We'll leave the number two and use three. The orange theme up there, it's almost like a safari. I'm like, 'Where did orange come from?' The feeling I want upstairs is a warm feeling. We've got staff grumbles at the moment, like, cos Fiona's downstairs, and she thinks why haven't we zhooshed her place up? 'It's bare and boring'; and then upstairs, she sees it's got the X factor. * (GENTLE PIANO MUSIC) Today will be the first time I make an arrangement with a family in the new lounge. Leanne is laying in our chapel,... and I'm going to meet with her sisters to make funeral arrangements for the day of the funeral. We're here today to get as much information as we can to make tomorrow beautiful, meaningful and everything that you think tomorrow should be, yeah? With a suicide, a family have to make a funeral come together quite quickly. And... more often than not, you know, they're not really prepared. I mean, who is? But just... They've just gotta deal with the shock. Leanne was a quoter. Mm. Mm. She quoted everything. Everything in life was on quotes, and so, um,... (VOICE BREAKS) this explains her. Yeah. SOBS: And I think... the travels she was going through. So that's it. See, I think... It just... It's her to a T. The quote that best describes Leanne is, 'Don't expect everyone to understand your journey, especially if they've never had to walk your path.' (SWEEPING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) (MUSIC CONTINUES) FIONA: Good morning. (CROWD CHATTERS) Good morning, darling. Today, I'm the funeral director for Leanne Wright's funeral, and Francis is the celebrant. READS SOFTLY: Leanne believed she could heal anything and anyone, despite all the challenges. 'I do get more emotional when I'm a celebrant.' WHISPERS: Can I just pop in here just quickly? As a funeral director, there are boundaries that you set for your own self and sanity... in terms of working... and taking care of a family. But when you are the celebrant, you do get to know the family a whole lot more. (SOFT, SOLEMN MUSIC) So as I'm about to start the service, I'm, again, very nervous. I just look down at the service sheet, see her face, see her name, and then go for it. READS: Leanne was a free-spirited lady. She was a gypsy and was a true fantail, according to her whanau. Despite all the challenges and struggles in her life, she chose to see the positives. 'Kelly told me that she feels like Leanne is a fantail, and since Leanne's passing, 'Kelly has seen two fantails, you know, near her.' And so she feels that Leanne is near. (SLOW ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC PLAYS) MAN LEADS: # Whakaaria mai # tou ripeka... # I feel like everything went beautifully ` not so much because of me, but because of those who shared during that time. And there were laughs; there were tears, and there were smiles as well, which you get a perfect view, sitting up the front, of everyone and the reactions. It's just amazing of, you know, a person's life tragically ending in this way, yet she's given so much to people. (MUSIC SLOWS) # Amine. (MUSIC ENDS) (LIGHT, ELEGANT MUSIC) (LIGHT, CHEERFUL MUSIC) The renovation is finally done. It's over, and I feel awesome. We've had signs made so that families, it's easy for them to get upstairs to the lounge, the toilets, our offices. And I've even had a sign made for Fiona's office, and she loves it. I think it's fantastic that they've got offices at last. Everyone can actually go to their own computer and do their own work, instead of hogging my little office. These are just our little troll ornaments, just to make everyone happy and... not to take life too seriously. They're just little fun things to look at and hopefully brighten up your day. Eh. It's amazing how something... ugly can make you feel all nice and gooey. Yeah, they're different. I've seen these little ornaments on their desk, and I think they're disgusting. I think they're so scary and ugly and, like, quite hairy. I did have a troll put in her office, and for some reason, it's not there any more. No, thanks. I've got Jesus. I've got my crucifix. That's all I need.